Family Matters
by FrancescaBoscorelli
Summary: Steve's brother comes to town and hell breaks lose. Steve centric fic with hints of McKono. I suck at summaries! read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Family Matters  
**Pairing**: Steve centric with hints of McKono (LOTS)  
**Disclaimer**: Not mine except Katerina Vesi and Stan McGarrett  
**Spoilers**: None

A/N: Dunno why or how this idea came to my mind, Steve having a twin brother so...well I hope you like this one!

* * *

Sirens broke through the quiet streets of Hawaii. The speeding car flew across the pavement, the driver looking behind him every now and then at cars close on his toes. Sweat dripping down his forehead, knuckles white as he squeezed the steering wheel in his hands.

A police car stood beside him, he watched it, not terrified even for a minute. He had been through this before way too many times and on the streets of NYC so driving around here was a piece of cake. Living here for so many years had its benefits. He moved around the streets, knowing them like the back of his hand.

He ignored the calls, the yells from the police officers beside him. Do they really think he was going to stop? No way! He was having a blast. The adrenaline rush was so palpable in his entire body, he loved this. He loved the rush, the excitement of it all. He could have laughed, malevolent laughter and all, but his seven minutes in heaven were coming to a stop.

He was trapped, totally and completely. Two cars sped before him, sending his car into a halt. He couldn't move back either for a third police car stopped him. There was no way he could easily get out of this one.

He was in a huge amount of trouble.

"Get out of the car!" one of the cops screamed, gun pointing directly at his face. There was cold sweat dripping from the cop's forehead, he could have taken this as an advantage and ran away but there was nowhere he could go. He didn't want to die in a car. "Hands where I can see them!"

"Alright, chill out brah," he answered.

So, ever the obedient man, he steps out. The party was over.

The two cops whispered to each other and looked strangely at him, as if they already knew him. Hesitantly they handcuffed him. It was different than other times, usually they were harsh, pulling at his wrists with no mercy but right now you could even say they were being gentle.

"Sorry for doing this, sir," one of the officers said. Cold handcuffs hitting his wrists. "You're under arrest."

Since when cops were apologizing for arresting him?

* * *

Steve was not amused by the huge amount of paperwork surrounding him. This was the last time he left everything behind to go on drinks with the team. How irresponsible and very unlike him. But he did have fun thought, and the aftermath was totally worth it.

'Focus, Steve,' he thought 'you can think about what you did with a certain female cop later.'

The rush outside his office made him snap out of his thoughts. He was certain Danny was yelling at someone, a man, and Kono was asking for explanation for the interruption. He peeked from inside his office, two police officers walked in with a man wearing a suit. He saw the golden badge, his confusion grew.

Walking outside the two officers in questions looked at him with the same amount of confusion he had.

"What's going on?" he asked and the two officers shared a look with the man in suit beside them.

"Commander McGarrett, I need you to come with us to the station," the man in the suit said. The two cops looked stiff, almost scared of being there and both looked down embarrassed. Rookies, maybe, feeling as if they had screwed up with the big boss.

"Why? What's going on?" he asked again, confusion growing inside his head.

"I cannot make comments regarding the matter in hand, sir. I just need you to come with me."

A case. A case involving him. The governor might have sent them but it was too strange; if there were a case he would have called himself, he wouldn't have sent a gorilla to pick him up.

"Detective…"

The three men before him turned around at the sound of a female voice speaking. She walked inside the HQ, a brown manila folder in her hand. Steve recognized her immediately and if he was utterly puzzled before now he was out of his mind.

"I can take it from here," she spoke and the three man look at each other like they did before. Steve felt suddenly out of place, being the first time he had no explanation for whatever was happening in front of him.

"I'm sorry ma'am but I have orders…" the man spoke, she raised her hand to interrupts him.

"I have orders from the governor, which means I'm pretty sure whoever sent you here had no idea what's going on."

The man walked away immediately, taken the two cops along with him. She turned her attention back to Steve, who still frowned baffled.

"It's nice seeing you again Steve," she spoke, smiling at him.

"It's been a long time," he answered.

"Four years."

"That long? Wow."

Someone coughed beside him and then he noticed the whole team had been there to see the weird scene. Danny had made himself noticed and glared at Steve, obviously waiting for an explanation to which he wished had one, but he was as lost as he was. Kono on the other hand, she wasn't too happy at the woman before her especially at the way the two greeted.

"Care to explain what's going on here, Steven?" Danny asked exchanging looks between Steve and the brown haired woman.

"Please allow me," the woman spoke. "My name is Katerina Vesi, I'm a Detective from NY. I'm here to speak with Steve about something concerning him and him only. Not to sound rude or anything."

"Whatever you have to say Kat, you can do it in front of the team." Steve spoke.

"Alright then, we need to take a sit though. It's going to be a long explanation."

He did not like long explanations. He preferred short, carefully elaborated ones. And he did not trust the face she was giving him at all. This meant bad news.

The team moved towards the conference room. Steve took a seat in front, the rest followed him close. He was in desperate need of an explanation, a word or something that told him what she was doing here, because certainly she did not come over to see him.

She sat next to him, the manila folder opened before her. She played nervously with the tip of the page, looking hesitatingly at Steve. Her expression hadn't changed at all and he was afraid that whatever she wanted to tell him was going to change his life a little bit.

"So?" Steve spoke desperately; he didn't do waiting very well.

"You're not gonna like this," Katerina spoke, undecided.

"Figured. I was sure you didn't come here for a visit."

"It's about Stan."

He snapped his head up quickly at the sound of his name. He hadn't heard about him in, what? Four years? Was that long? Yeah. The last time he saw Katrina was the exact same time he had seen him. They stopped talking after that 'incident'; besides he was pretty sure he was still mad at him. He couldn't blame him though, he regretted walking away from him that day.

"What happened?"

"He got in trouble. Big trouble."

"How big?"!

"Titanic big."

He shook his head, touching his forehead at the headache already forming. Then he remembers the exact same reason why they stopped talking was this; him getting into trouble and Steve helping him get out of it. He was tired. He got tired of each time they saw each other was for this.

"What did he do this time?" he was afraid to ask, truth be told.

"Here? He avoided police control," she explained "Back in NYC? He did something not very good"

She pushed the manila folder she was holding towards him. The page opened in front of him basically described everything he had ever done; from drug dealing to car robbery and with painful details.

"This is old," Steve spoke, his eyes still fixed on the paper.

She nodded slowly and pulled an extra manila folder from her bag pack. She did the same as the other one, pushed it towards Steve to which he frowned confused.

"This is not Stan's," he said. The folder read 'Giuseppe Marino' and it contained several pages, handwritten with notes on the side. "Who's this guy, Giuseppe Marino?"

"He's a mob guy," Danny interrupted. "Drug dealer, murderer. You know the drill. Don't understand how he has never caught."

"He has bought half of the station. Most mayors, heads of police departments, judges," Katrina added. "Sadly this is just me saying it. Nobody is willing to take a stand, or be a witness to his crimes. To the rest of the world he's just a good wealthy man."

"What does he has to do with Stan?"

She stared at him for a brief second, knowing what she was about to say would change everything. She felt bad about it already.

"Stan worked for him," she spoke. "I've been tracking him down for over a year, the last time you saw him was nothing. After that he sort of lost track and got caught in the middle of a lot of bad news, most of it because of this guy."

"You said 'worked'. Is he out now?"

She shook her head sadly.

"No, nobody has ever been able to pull out from Giuseppe's business. Not a single soul."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning he's running away from him."

He couldn't believe it. He was at a loss for words. The first time he got in trouble was nothing compared to this, he couldn't help him out this time. He felt himself to blame, he had left him alone and he got lost. He was trying to punish him for making a mistake and he got caught up in something he could not get out off.

"I'm guessing it won't be long enough until Giuseppe finds out he's here," she explained.

"Is that why you're here?" he asked, swallowing the lump forming on the back of his throat. "because you think this guy might be here?"

"Yes," she whispered, looking down. He had the feeling she was not being completely honest with him, but that was something he could take care of later. "I just found Stan in jail, I had no idea he was here."

"I can't believe this…" he whispered, covering his face with his hands. He felt frustrated and angry and desperate.

"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt this not very happy conversation," Danny spoke. Once again Steve noticed his presence only after a second, he had been so focused on his conversation with Katerina that he forgot his whole team was right here. And they had no idea who Stan was. "But who is this Stan guy you've been talking about?"

Katerina looked at Steve and then to Danny, back and forth. She was utterly confused.

"You haven't told them?" she asked him, he shook his head slowly, a little bit ashamed. "Steve…"

"I know. I should have…" he spoke and turned towards his team. "Stan is my brother."

Six pairs of eyes were staring at him in disbelief. He was embarrassed, keeping something so important from his friends, from Kono seeing as they were growing closer right now.

"You have a brother?" Danny asked him with a high pitched voice. "Did you know about this?" he asked Kono, who shook her head vigorously.

"No, I had no idea," she whispered, feeling a little bit hurt to be honest. She thought they were getting somewhere, talking about everything, at least she had. He had failed to share something as big as this with her.

"I'm sorry guys. I know I should have mentioned Stan before, I just didn't think it was…."

"Important? That it mattered?" Kono interrupted. "Steve this is about your family, we trust each other. You should have told us about him." She wanted to say 'me' but this was not the time to be selfish.

"There's another thing…" Katerina spoke and he sighed heavily.

"Stan is my twin brother," he spoke finally and Danny's eyes were open like two set of plates.

"You have a twin?" his high pitched voice returned. "You mean there are two of them walking around the island?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes set briefly on Kono whose disappointment was written all over her face. He felt terrible, he felt suddenly sick. The information about his brother possibly being in the mop, running away from a guy like Giuseppe taking its toll on him. But most of all he felt sick because he had lied about being honest and this was not the way he wanted to tell her, and the team about Stan.

"Well, the world is coming to an end for sure," Danny spoke lightening the mood. "We've got two McGarrett on our hands now."

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Ok, So I was watching the movie "The Back-up Plan" when I thought Steve could have a twin brother, which explains why I couldn't come up with a different name for Steve's brother. **_

_**Thank you so much for the amazing response, this is sort of like my very first none McKono centric fic. Thanks for the support! Love you all.**_

_**Fran**_

* * *

He hated getting into trouble immensely. The worst part was it was as if trouble seeks him out. Like this time; of all the people cops had to stop him? And he had to forget his driver's license, which had never happened before.

The treatment he received had been different, like the cops were actually afraid of him. He didn't look like a criminal at all; sure his hair was kind of long and curlier than usual, but it wasn't like he looked like a bad guy.

He breathed the warm air of the island and smiled. He hadn't been here for a long time, he remembered it like it had been yesterday the last time he had been here. He remembered the promise he had made of never coming back, when his dad made the lame attempt of kicking him out and they had gotten into a big argument which lead him to actually leaving and never speaking to his family. He felt sorry for Mary though, she was his little sister and they had a special bond. Sometimes he closed his eyes and could still see the sad look on her face, the tears running down her cheeks. It broke his heart.

The crush of the waves snaps him out of reverie. Half an hour ago he had no place to go, he couldn't go back to the hotel he was staying in. But while being inside he had find out something that changed his plans tremendously.

This was the first time he had been so eager to be here.

* * *

"Very big information you decided to keep to yourself all of a sudden," Kono spoke from the door, arms crossed against her chest. She could have been mad, but she didn't have the heart anymore, seeing how tired he was.

"I know it's too late to apologize, Kono," he spoke, holding his head between his hands. "But I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. You have bigger and more important things to worry about."

"You are important," he spoke.

She blushed profusely. Their relationship had taken an unexpected turn after they went out for drinks two days ago. The flirting had become more intense, they didn't hide it any longer, and they even looked for excuses to be alone together. She wasn't afraid to show her feelings anymore and neither was he.

"In exactly how much trouble has your brother been in?" she asked, changing the subject all of a sudden.

"A lot," he answered as she took a seat in front of him. "Drug dealing mostly, among other things. But the biggest trouble was four years ago. The cops caught him selling drugs to a minor, sent him to jail for a couple days until he called me, that's how I met Katerina. She was a rookie back then, she told me what he had done and told me I might be the only person to pull him out of trouble…" he stop for a second, remembering that day vividly and how much Stan hated him that moment. He couldn't blame him.

"Did you?" she asked, seeing the sadness written in his eyes.

"No," he spoke, leaning back in his chair. "I told Katerina that would teach him a lesson. That was four years ago, the last time I saw him. I figured he didn't learn the lesson and actually got in more trouble than he initially was."

"And you think it's because of you?"

"Because it was. I should have took him out and dragged him to Hawaii, like the big brother that I am. Made sure he didn't do anything stupid. But instead I turned my back on him and left him alone, he needed me and I wasn't there."

"What makes you believe he wouldn't have gotten into trouble while being here?"

"I don't know. I would have kept an eye on him," he sighed, "kept him safe…"

"Steve, whatever decision he made had nothing to do with the decision YOU made. If he wanted to get in trouble he would have done it here or elsewhere. There's no way you can keep him safe all the time."

She was right. Stan had made the decision to go down the wrong path, he couldn't stop him if he'd already made up his mind. Still, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

The door cracked open slightly, Danny's head made an appearance slowly. He looked strangely amused, shocked even when he shared a smile with them.

"Steve, someone is looking for you."

Steve snapped his attention outside. There was a man with his back towards his office; he was standing in front of a computer and then turned to walk around the office, looking at his surroundings. From Steve's point in the office he couldn't quite tell who the person was, all he could see was he was wearing jeans and a leather jacket. Other than that he was a total stranger.

He walked out, Kono following close behind.

He stopped on his tracks. The man in question turned around slowly, a playful smile on his face.

"Hello, brother."

"Stanley," Steve whispered. It had been a long time, a very long time.

"Oh please, don't call me that," Stan spoke. "Dad used to call me that when he was mad."

Kono stared at them, bewildered. They were alike, like two drops of water. The only difference was Stan's morning beard and his slight longer hair. Other than that she could not tell which one was Steve and which one was Stan.

"I see you're not surprised to see me," Stan said.

"I heard you were coming," Steve answered, but he knew better that Stan could see the lie written in his face.

"You suck at lying, brah."

"Katerina is here."

Stan was not surprised at all. He knew wherever he was going she followed close behind; she had been doing that for a while. A few months back he had caught her in DC, she lied about visiting a relative but he had seen her car parked outside his hotel room.

"Figured. Couldn't go around without telling daddy the bad brother is here."

"Stan…"

"Hey, no biggie. I already faced the fact I'm the black sheep of the McGarretts." He shrugged, not giving even the slightest hint of importance to his words. He changed his attention all of a sudden, to the man and female standing next to his brother, he smiled at Kono charmingly. Steve already sensed what was to come and did not felt happy about it.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me. I'm Stan," he spoke shaking Danny's hand politely. Kono raised her hand too and was surprised when Stan kissed it politely.

"I'm Kono," she said and her heart sort of skipped a beat when Stan smiled at her. He looked so much like Steve it was scary. "Nice to meet you."

"It's my complete and total pleasure," Stan said, stealing a glance towards his brother who looked more than pissed at the gesture. "I now understand why my brother is so happy to work here, with such a beautiful woman standing beside him every day."

Steve rolled his eyes, he hadn't changed at all. He was still the same womanizer he knew. He hoped thought that Kono didn't fall for his charm and good looks.

"Okay, enough," Steve interfered, Kono frowning at his sudden reaction. The jealousy was written all over his face. "We have to talk you and I," he told Stan, walking towards his office for some privacy. Stan just stood there, still smiling at Kono and pretended not to be interested at all.

"Now, Stan!" Steve yelled. He followed his brother two seconds later, winking at Kono before closing the door behind him

She felt weird, suddenly flushed at the small gesture she got from him.

This was getting odd.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews, favorites and alerts. It means A LOT to me. THANK YOU!**

**Fran**

* * *

Steve really didn't think that this was the proper way to introduce Stan to his friends, nor the proper way to show him around his office or tell him what he did for a living. The last time they spoke he was still a Navy SEAL and his father was still alive; there were huge changes in his life and every time he looked around he thought about sharing it with his brother.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Stan asked casually and Steve wondered if he really mean it or was playing around with him.

"Why are you really here, Stan?"

"What? Can a man just come home to visit his brother?" Stan asked him, "or does there have to be an ulterior motive?"

"You were in jail," Steve said. "You ran away from the HPD."

"Oh yeah, that. Well I forgot my license at home, I freaked out and ran away," he spoke casually again, leaning back on his chair.

"Is that all?" Steve asked, hoping his brother would come forward with the truth.

"Of course. Why?"

"Because I know, Stan," Steve replied, which made Stan's demeanor change immediately. "I know everything."

He moved uncomfortably in his chair, playing with his hands resting on his lap almost nervously. He wasn't going to accept it though, him being nervous about talking to his brother. He didn't do nervous anymore; his lifestyle, working around powerful men like the big guy never gave him time to be nervous. He had to be strong and look strong. Just like now.

"Let me guess. Katerina told you about Giuseppe, about my issues with him and all. Am I right?"

"Yes. Is it true?"

"Not that I need to explain myself to you, but yes. I was in some trouble with him…"

"Are you in trouble now?

He narrowed his eyes at him. Did he really care now? Or was he just asking because he thought, being in the island, his reputation as a head of this task force would be stained?

"Why do you care?" Stan asked boldly.

"Because you're my brother."

"Oh, now I'm your brother. Surely I wasn't four years ago?"

Yeah, he was right. Four years ago he pretended Stan was a stranger for a brief moment and later regretted walking away from him. He had all the right to wonder if he cared, all the right not to believe he worried if Stan got himself in trouble again, because he did. He lost his brother years ago; he wasn't going to lose him again.

"I was trying to help you…" Steve explains, though he knew his words were not enough.

"By leaving me there, standing in the middle of hell? Some help you gave me."

"I thought turning my back on you was going to teach you a lesson."

"Oh yeah it did, brother. It taught me I was alone, fighting my own wars with no soldiers to stand beside me" he slowly stood up, fixed his jacket and made his way towards the door.

"If you're in trouble again you can tell me," Steve told him as he walked away, his back to him.

"Of course, Stanley cannot walk around without getting himself into big shit."

"I didn't mean…"

"Relax, brah," Stan smiled at his brother, thought it was more fake than he thought it would be. "Everything is cool. Trust me."

Could he really?

* * *

"He told you everything was fine?" Katerina asked Steve as they sat in the small cafe at Waikiki beach. She hated crowded places, to be honest, but suddenly she was so paranoid about someone following her everywhere that she was willing to do whatever it took to keep herself safe, even if that meant having to put up with people yelling around her all the time.

"Yes," he answered, taking a sip of his freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Do you trust him?"

"He's my brother, of course I trust him. He wouldn't lie to me right in my face."

"You haven't seen him in four years, that's a lot of time. People change. Maybe the Stanley you knew wouldn't, but this one certainly would."

She spoke as if she knew him better than he did. Surely they had lost time, but twins shared a special bond, a connection, he liked to believe even with all that time away Stanley was still sharing that with him, which meant knowing when he wasn't completely honest with him.

"He said he had nothing to do with that guy anymore. I don't think he would lie about it, right?"

She shook her head, laughing softly at how naïve he was being.

"You really honestly think he could go to him and tell him 'I want out' and that's it?" she spoke "This isn't that simple. You cannot walk away from Giuseppe and pretend he will just forget about you. Once you're in, you can't walk out."

"If he wants to, he could."

"Didn't you read the file I gave you?" She asked him. He shook his head slowly. "This man has killed more people than I can count, manipulated every single soul for his crimes to be ignored. I have never heard of anyone, in my years as a detective, being able to just walk away from him without showing up dead two weeks later. If Stan thinks he will just let him go, then he's wrong. You both are."

For the first time in days, Steve was scared. He was confident; when Stan told him he had nothing to do with Giuseppe, that things were going to change. But now, after what Katerina had told him, he wasn't sure how safe his brother was.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! love you all so freaking much!**

**Fran**

* * *

Kono was never this paranoid, actually she couldn't remember being paranoid before. But this time she could swear someone was watching her from afar. She turned around every now and then but there was no one watching, everything felt completely normal. She had to stop watching the Twilight Zone.

"Morning," she greeted Steve, who was currently sitting at her desk, reading a file in his hands.

"Hey," he spoke, his eyes still focused on the paper.

"What are you reading?"

"Oh, this? It's Marino's record. Got a little bit curious," and scared as well but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Curious?"

He just couldn't lie to her, she read him like an open book. It was scary how well she knew him.

"I talked to Kat and she told me a few things this guy did. I wanted to know for sure she wasn't exaggerating…"

"Was she?"

"No. Sadly she wasn't…"

Suddenly the door bust open, Katerina walked inside quickly practically running towards Kono and Steve. She dropped her bag on the table and took a deep breath, a concerned look on her face.

"We are in some deep shit," she said, her breath uneven.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, a little bit worried.

"There was a car following me on my way here."

"What?"

"I thought I was just being paranoid, you know? But I saw the same car parked a few blocks away from my hotel. Then I saw the exact same car just two seconds before walking in," she pulled out her cell phone, showing a few pictures of a grey car parked outside.

"That's the same car I saw just now."

"You did?" Steve asked, a whole new flashed of concern.

"Did you take a close look at the driver?" Katerina asked.

"No. I mean I walked in and it was there. I just thought it was a car parked and that's it."

Katerina covered her face with her hands. She knew one day he would find out they were here, she just thought by that time she and Stan would be long gone.

"What is it?" Steve asked at his friend's obvious distress. "What does this mean?"

"It means Marino knows Stan is here."

"He's been following him around?" Kono asked, the same amount of concern.

"Yes. I don't know how, well I'm sure he's been buying people off, he always manages to know where he is. Usually Stan doesn't stay more than two days so he doesn't have time to actually do something about it…"

"Something?" Steve spoke, already fearing her answer.

"He wants him dead."

* * *

Steve paced around the room like he'd been doing for the last five minutes and Kono was already getting nervous. Danny and Chin were both confused at his reaction, at his demeanor, not even mention the presence of McGarrett number two, like Danny called him. Nobody knew what was going on in his head expect Kono.

"Why are you…?" Stan spoke but was quickly interrupted by his brother's raised hand.

"Why is this guy following you around?" he asked abruptly. Stan was taken aback by the question. "Why does he want you dead?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Stop lying to me!" Steve yelled at his brother, his eyes flashing with anger." You told me you were out, that you had nothing to do with him. Then why does he want you dead!"

Stan looked around him; the whole team was here, watching him like hawks. He felt like he was being interrogated, as if he had committed a crime he was not aware of. Then he looked at the far corner of the room where Katerina sat on a desk, head between her hands.

"Did she tell you that?" Stan asked, pointing at Katerina. She raised her head quickly, staring at him. She stood up and walked towards him. "You told him that?"

"It's the truth," she spoke.

"I told you I was out," he spoke directly to her. "I have nothing to do with that man, not anymore."

"It's not that easy, you know it."

"Well I don't give a damn. I'm no longer in his crew; you cannot connect me to him."

"He's here, Stan," she told him and he was taken aback by the sudden revelation. "He has been following me since God knows when, he knows you're here and if you don't come with me you'll be dead within days."

"I told you…"

"It doesn't matter!" she yelled, almost desperately. "It doesn't matter if you think you're out. To him you'll always be in, always. No matter how many times you try to walk away from it, it's always there. He's always there."

Stan stared at her, surprised at how worried she was about him. He couldn't avoid it; he couldn't just dismiss the connection he felt towards her. She wasn't just another cop trying to catch him or whatever; nobody has ever been worried about him like she was right now. She had her eyes teary and her face full of concern. His heart just shrank inside his chest.

"Fine. If you think I'm still in trouble, what should I do?" he asked, because he seriously thought he was out, he could make something good out of his life now that he had no connection with Marino. Somehow others thought he was wrong.

"If I'm right, and he has been following us around then I think you should just stay in," she said, though she wasn't sure it was a good idea or he was going to accept.

"Stay in?" Stan asked her, "As in stay in and never walk out?"

"Yes."

"You want me to hide?"

"Yes!"

He giggled, because basically there was nothing his mind could do. He had never let that man control his life, he never did it when he was in, he wasn't about to do it now he was out.

"You're out of your mind," he spoke, shaking his head. "All of you!" He was about to say especially Katerina, but it seemed unfair to her at the moment since she was only trying to protect him.

"This is for the best," Steve spoke, though he knew he would never understand.

"Being locked up is not gonna save me from anything if that's what you're thinking," Stan stated, seeing the reality of it. If he wanted to find him, he was going to do it no matter what.

"But at least would give us some time."

"Time for what?" Steve asked.

"Time to see if I can drag us out without calling too much attention," Katerina said.

"In the mean time, you're staying with me," Steve said to Stan, to which he frowned.

"Why?"

"Because a), there's nowhere else you can go. You can't just stay at a hotel again, and b), I have a gun, so if this brah decides to show up I can shoot him in the face."

"Fine," Stan answered seeing he sort of had a point. If he ever comes close, he was sure his brother would kick his ass. The benefit of having a ninja as a brother.

"And you can stay with me," Kono said to Katerina who smiled gratefully.

"Thank you."

"Alright then, let's get this over with," Stan spoke, standing up from his seat.

"You say it like it's the worst thing in the world," Steve complained walking along with Stan towards the door.

"Of course it's not," he answered rolling his eyes.

"I saw that!"

Both women watched amused as they argued their wait out.

"Well, we could see the bright side of it. They're gonna bond again," Kono said, smiling happy to see them together.

"Yeah, if they don't kill each other first."

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**So tired...thank you for reading! love you all so freaking much. **

**Fran**

* * *

Stan could remember as if it was yesterday the last time he had been home, the day his father had kicked him out. He always pictured coming home would be his mother welcoming with a hug, his father smiling at him and his brothers sharing all the things he had missed while he was gone. But none of that ever happened; he had left without coming back and when he really wanted to there was nobody to welcome him home anymore.

There wasn't much that had changed though, at home that is. Everything remained the same, same old couch, same old bookcase. But it was emptier than when he was young, without his mom, dad and Mary talking to each other, the house looked sad.

"You can stay in your old room," Steve spoke from the kitchen. Stan hadn't even realized he was still standing in the middle of the room, looking around. He snapped his head towards his brother.

"That thing is still alive?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not dad always thought you were coming back."

He snorted. Like he would believe something like that.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did," he said ironically, walking passed his brother and towards his old room. Same as he did with the living room, he looked around in disbelief. His bed was still the same, the cupboard next to his bed still kept the trophies he had won when he was a kid; the soccer championship, basketball and a bunch of others he barely remembered.

"He wanted you back," Steve spoke, standing in the doorway of his brother's room. He watched as he snapped his head towards him, looking blankly at him. "I know you don't believe it but he cared."

"Well you're right. I don't believe it."

"He suffered as much as you did, and mom."

"He kicked me out, Steve," Stan snapped, anger rising within him. The words his father said the day he had kicked him out once again fresh in his brain. "He told me to leave and never come back."

"He was trying to protect us. You, Mary and me."

"I get it. He sent me away to save me from what? Myself?"

Steve looked down at his feet. It suddenly hit him how much his brother had been missing; he had no idea about Wo Fat, or their mother being murdered. There were so many things he needed to explain but had no idea how.

"There are a lot of things, complicated things you just won't understand."

"Oh right. Military things, right? I forgot you were Dad's little clone."

Stan knew his dad loved Steve more because he was willing to do everything his father said, unlike him that questioned his dad constantly. Steve agreed with him when he had told him to leave because he had said it was for the best. Stan didn't. He yelled and screamed at his father for an explanation, refusing to join the Army like he had requested, with the result of him kicking him out with no further question.

"I'm not like Dad," Steve told him.

"You can't see it but I can. You were born to follow father's footsteps, that's why he loved you more than me."

"He loved us both equally."

"Really?" He turned around to face his brother, "then tell why he never answered my letters?"

"What letters?" Steve asked him confused.

Stan turned around, shaking his head profusely. He unpacked, throwing his clothes angrily on the bed. He hated coming to a point in which he had to face the fact he was the 'evil' brother, the one that went wrong with the McGarretts.

"I sent letters to Dad repeatedly, almost two every week for a year. He knew where I was, Steve."

"He never…"

"Which takes me to my first point." Stan insisted.

"Don't say he didn't love you, because he did."

"Everything he did, and didn't, makes me think otherwise," he whispered. He didn't think the pain was going to surface again, at the thought of his dad, but somehow it did. He wasn't the sentimental type of man, he hardly ever cried, but the fact that he felt unloved by the person he cared the most made him teary.

"Stan…"

"Look I get it, alright? He loved you more because you did everything he asked you to. I didn't. I hated the Army, you didn't. He wanted you to be him, I didn't. I get it, don't worry."

"You know I never wanted this to happen," by that he meant he didn't want to make his brother feel less loved.

"It's not your fault, Steve," he shrugs. "I guess it was just meant for me to be different…"

"There's still no reason for you to feel that way."

But he did. After such a long time he still felt sad, no matter how strong he pretended to be.

"Can we drop the subject now?" He suddenly said and Steve nodded. "I'm hungry. Got something to eat around here?"

"I can cook something," Steve suggested but frowned at Stan's weird disgusted face. "What?"

"Mary said you were a terrible cook."

"That's so… that's not true man. I can cook, alright?"

"Something other than spaghetti?"

Steve remained quiet. Because damn it he couldn't cook anything other than spaghetti and even that wasn't so good.

"Thought so," Stan spoke. "Take out it is."

* * *

Kono dropped her bag on the coffee table, picking up the remaining clothes from the couch on her way towards her room. Working 24/7 barely left her time to clean, not that she was that messy but sometimes she was just too tired to even hang her jacket in the closet. She sort of felt embarrassed now with her guest looking around like she was doing right now.

"Sorry about the mess," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm pretty much the same," she smiled politely. "Thank you for letting me stay, I didn't mean to be burden."

"No problem and you're not a burden."

They both sat on the couch quietly, already too exhausted to even move. Kono took a look at the young woman siting beside her, she was about her age, and her long brown hair tied in a messy ponytail, her blue eyes hidden behind her glasses. She looked tired, not physically but emotionally, as if she had a burden on her shoulders. She wondered if helping Stan was more than just solving a case, she wondered if whatever she was doing was about her feelings.

"Can I ask you something, without sounding rude?" Kono asked her. Katerina turned her face towards her and nodded. "Why are you helping Stan?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I mean I know you want to solve this case, we all do, but I sense there's something about all of this that's bothering you and it's not exactly Giuseppe being around."

She sighed, defeated. How it was written all over her face was beyond her. She was really trying to hide everything, trying to ignore her beating heart as she saw him but each time she read his file, each time she tried to understand why he had gotten into this mess her heart felt like it was about to explode.

"I understand him, I guess," Katerina lied, because it was way more than just simple understanding. "Him being alone like he was the first time I saw him. I've been like that, you know? With nobody to help me out, no support. Just there."

She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, recalling the night she had first talked to Stan. Steve had just left and Stan was sitting in the corner of the prison cell, covering his face with his hands. He looked sad, almost broken, and she took pity on him because he didn't look like the type of guy who would get into trouble. So she greeted him, like a small hello and nothing else. She knew she shouldn't have done it because it was unprofessional and because she was just getting started with her job, she was a newbie and getting attached to one of the prisoners was definitely not allowed, but there was something in his eyes that dragged her into him before she could stop it.

"So you… like him?" Kono asked, hesitating with her question.

"I shouldn't. I know it's not right. He's criminal and I'm a detective," she spoke, her eyes looked at a blank spot before her. Trying to convince herself of her own words and failing miserably.

"This might sound cliché and all but, you can't control who to love," Kono said sympathetically because she had been there, falling in love with her boss was not exactly the cleverest idea ever.

"I have no idea when this got so fucked up," Katrina sighed, resting her head down on the couch. "It was just supposed to be another case, you know? Investigate, close it. Period. But then I saw him again…"

"Wait. You mean the first time you meet Stan he wasn't involved with Mariano?" Kono asked, frowning.

"No. I met him because he was involved in an armed robbery," Katerina explained. "A month later I started working on a drug dealing case and I saw him again. This time he was part of Mariano's crew."

"Was this after Steve left him there?"

"Yeah…"

Now Kono understood why he felt guilty. If he had pulled Stan out he would have never meet Mariano in the first place, he wouldn't be running from anyone.

"I never closed the case," she continued. "I didn't have enough proof that Mariano was actually involved. Besides, no one at the station wanted to back me up. That's how I understood he ruled the world."

"How did you prove Stan was part of it?"

"I got tips from an informer and it led me to him," she explained. "I tried to help him out, but reaching to him was almost impossible, he was always surrounded by all sorts of people."

"At least you tried" Kono reassured her, trying to give her as much comfort as she could. "Steve did too. His choices are not yours."

Still Katerina felt sad, because she cared about Stan more than she should and because to her hearing saying at least she tried, did not relieved her.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thank you so much for all the reviews, I'm glad you like this fic. I'm super sick right so I'm making this quick. **_

_**Don't forget to review!**_

_**Fran**_

* * *

It was very common for Kono nowadays to find Steve sitting in his office, eyes somewhat lost at a blank spot or looking outside the window just like now.

"How did your bonding time go?" She asked, standing by the door. He turned his head towards her and shrugged.

"Good, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Okay, it didn't go so well," he sighed heavily. Kono came closer, sitting at the edge of his desk facing him. It was her way of showing him that she was there.

"What happened?"

"We ended up talking about dad, how he felt about Stan and all. He thinks dad didn't love him, that I was his favorite because I was just like him and he had refused to be."

"Is it true, about your dad feeling that way?"

"No... I don't know really," he shrugged, this time because he had never been sure about his dad's feelings towards his twin. "He acted differently whenever someone mentioned him, but I thought it was because he missed him like we all did..."

"But?" She asked urging him to continue.

"He knew where he was, all this time. Dad knew he had been trouble and Stan thinks he had refused to help him."

"And what do you think?"

He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window, at the beach, where people laughed and had fun, just like he used to when his family was complete, when his mother was still alive and his brother was his companion instead of a total stranger.

"That he was doing the same thing he did to us; protect us."

"Did you explain that to Stan?" She meant the whole Wo Fat and his mother murder.

"No..."

"Then he will never understand that all his father ever did was protect you all."

"Yeah..." He suddenly holds her hand, giving it a light squeeze. She smiled sweetly, feeling confident that Steve trusted her and knew he was there for her.

He got up slowly, his face coming inches apart from hers. She didn't move, her heart beating faster every second. It wasn't the first time they had kissed in the last couple of weeks; still he managed to provoke all the reactions of a first kiss. His lips barely touched her in a chaste kiss before they were interrupted by a loud cough. Both broke apart quickly, turned towards the door to find Stan with a big smile on his handsome face.

"I see you keep yourself busy, Stevie boy."

She turned around towards him, a playful smile on her lips mouthing 'Stevie', he shook his head too embarrassed to explain his brother's nickname to him.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked him. In a serious tone he added, "I thought I told you to stay home."

"I was bored out of my mind there. You don't have TV in your bedroom, still with the same 'mommy I can't sleep with all the noises, my ears hurt'? I thought that would be over by now."

Why was Stan revealing his entire childhood's secrets was beyond him. Why in front of Kono too. He definitely didn't look like a tough Navy SEAL now. He just prayed Danny wasn't eavesdropping like he usually did or he wouldn't let this go.

"Besides, blondie called and said he had something to show us"

Steve frowned at his brothers words. Danny never said anything when he came in, whatever he wanted to tell them was a mystery.

"Let's go then," Steve got up and walked towards Danny office, followed close behind by Kono and Stan.

Danny was submerged in a piece of paper in front of him with a worried expression on his face. When he didn't noticed them in his office Steve began to feel worried too.

"Danny," Kono spoke to which he raised his head quickly. "You wanted to tell us something?"

"Oh yeah," he handed the paper to Steve who started reading it, confused.

"What's this?" he asked.

"I... I talked to a friend from NY, I asked for information about the case Vesi has been working on," he stopped for a second to look from Steve to Stan. He clearly looked uncomfortable with whatever he was about to say.

"And?" Steve was getting impatient with Danny's hesitation.

"He told me there was no case," Danny spoke. "Actually what you have in your hands was the last report about Marino."

"This was two years ago," Steve said, eyes fixed on the paper in his hands.

"Yes. The case was closed because there were no clues, it was dismissed."

"So, you're telling me there's nothing now? That what she said about working on something about Marino is a lie?"

"Not really, she has been working on something," Danny explained, "but on her own, she doesn't have anyone's approval."

"That what she meant when she told me she was on her own," Kono whispered.

Steve was furious. He considered Katerina a responsible detective, he never thought she could lie to him like that.

"This guy also said she was obsessed with Marino, she wants to get him no matter what."

"Call her," he spoke to Kono, walking out with an angry pace. She followed him out. "Tell her to come over now."

"Before you say anything, give her time to explain herself."

"Oh I will," he said, "but that explanation better be a good one."

* * *

Katerina walked inside the HQ assuming the subject matter would be nothing of any importance and assuming that Steve was probably interested in her night with Kono or something like that.

She had been wrong. The look on Steve's face was not a happy one at all, disappointment was written clearly on his features.

"What's up?" She asked him, watching as he dropped a brown manila folder on the desk in front of her.

"Can you explain to me what the hell this is?" he asked with harsh tone.

"It's a report..." She took a closer look and realized it was a copy of something she had written, the name Giuseppe Marino in it.

"You told me there was a case," Steve told her.

"There is..."

"This was two years ago, Kat," Danny interrupted.

"Well, yeah this one old but..."

"There is NO case," Steve snapped at her. She was taken aback by his harshness. "You lied to me."

"I didn't lie..."

"You told me this guy was doing all sorts of stuff and you have no proof," he continued. "All you wrote here was just mere speculation."

"No there wasn't!" she refuted, "this man is evil...you just don't understand!"

"Then explain to me!" he yelled, "explain to me how when Danny called to NY they told him there was nothing. Tell me!"

She remained quiet; taking the report in her hands and reading what she had written over the years. Her eyes turned watery at the thought of how her own partners had called her crazy, that she was wasting her time with all this. But she wasn't, she was right about everything; the corruption, the money laundering, the murders. She was doing her job well, but so was he.

"It took me nearly a year to build this," she spoke in a whisper, her eyes stuck at her own words written in that piece of paper. "I had convinced my boss what he had done; he said if I could get evidence he could finally put that man behind bars."

"Did you?" Steve asked, still upset.

"It was all here," she waved the paper in front of her face. "But when I talked to my boss he said he thought I was so obsessed he did not trust the evidence I was presenting. So he dismissed it."

"Were you obsessed?" Kono asked her.

"Back then I was... because it drove me crazy that everything he had done was going unnoticed and nobody seemed to care."

"What about now? What makes the case different?" Steve asked her.

"A few months back I met a guy, who just like Stan has just walked out of Marino's crew. He said he wanted to help me out because he wanted to change his life around," she explained. "A day before our meeting he was found dead at his house."

"So that's how the obsession begun again?" Danny asked.

"No. Truth be told Marino was still in the back of my head, I just wasn't about to admit it."

"But without the guy..."

"I had no evidence, no witness, nothing. I was back to square one."

Stan watched her as she explained everything. He felt used, felt played and disgusted. She didn't want to protect him; she needed him for all this crap to be over.

"That's why you've been following me around," Stan spoke, a hurtful look on his face. "You need me. You want me to help you out with all this bullshit."

"No, that's not true," she said, "I care about you, you know that."

"All I know is that you lied to me, Kat," he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. "You told me you wanted to help me turn my life around but in fact you were using me for your personal vendetta."

"This is not revenge, this is justice."

"What's the damn difference!" Stan yelled at her. She felt her heart break inside her chest, she hated seeing him hurt, made her want to weep and cry."You're using me..."

"I'm trying to save you, Stan," she whispered. "If you come with me and be my witness, we can put him behind bars and this will be over soon."

"Will it?" Steve interrupted them, "Are you sure if he comes with you Giuseppe won't manage to track him down like he has done it before?"

"Maybe he never wanted me in the first place," Stan spoke, looking angrily at Katerina. "Right, Kat?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked his brother.

"Maybe all he wants is a family reunion.."

"A what?" He asked again, exchanging glances with Kat who looked defeated. "What are you talking about?"

"He might not be here because of me, I being on the island could be just a sad coincidence and you know it, Kat." Stan spoke and the room suddenly became quiet. The brown haired woman stood froze in place at his words.

"This has nothing to do with me..." She whispered.

"He came here for you. He doesn't even know I'm here. That's why you want to drag me away as soon as possible."

"Stan..."

"Tell them," he told her, but he ignored his words until his hand reached for her arm, "Katerina, tell them now. They have to know."

"We have to know what?" Kono asked full of confusion.

"Giuseppe... he's my father," Katerina whispered, wiping her fresh tears running down her cheeks.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Thank you for the amazing reviews! Love you all**_

_**(Still feeling like crap tho)**_

_**Fran**_

* * *

The room fell silent, the air was thick, and confusion was surrounding each and every one of them. She cried, she cried because he hated what she was, she hated the blood running through her veins.

"He's... your father?" Steve asked, perplexed.

"Yeah," she whispered, wiping away her tears. "Sadly, he is."

"And you're building a case to put him behind bars?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"He's a murderer. And he has destroyed my life in more ways you can think of."

"So this is about revenge." Steve stated.

"It's about justice," she replied. "If I don't do this, nobody will."

"Haven't you noticed all the people you're dragging along with your little vendetta?" Steve complained. "This isn't just another case, this is my brother's life you're talking about."

"I know what I'm doing," she spoke.

"You're only gonna get him killed!" Steve complained again. "Just like it happened to your friend!"

"The last thing I want is for him to get hurt, or die," she spoke in a soft whisper. "That's why we need to do this. This might be our only chance to put this to an end."

"What's gonna happen if he knows I'm here?" Stan asked her. "He's gonna kill me like he did with Josh?"

"Not if we leave," she explained.

Stan thought about it for a minute. He did want to put this to an end, he wanted to start a brand new life with no fear, no walking around the streets scared for his life. He knew though, that if Giuseppe finds them before they made plans someone was going to die and he was sure it wasn't going to be her.

"I'll do it," he spoke suddenly, his brother coming to stand in front of him, shaking his head vigorously.

"Stan this is crazy, you can't do this."

"Look, she's right. I might be the only one who can put a stop to all this," he explained, still his brother shook his head in disagreement. "Besides, this can be my chance to do something good for a change."

He felt his whole life had been a mistake. He had done one wrong thing after the other; first losing contact with his family even when his mother and father died, then choosing the wrong people to hang out with and do all sorts of stupid things to good people. He noticed how wrong his course of action was when it was too late and there was no turn back.

He wanted to change that, he wanted to do something right and the best way was to put the criminal that had ruined his life behind bars.

"He's going to kill you," Steve tried to reason with his brother even though knowing he was as stubborn like him.

"Not if we make it to NY on time," Stan stated.

"I have to talk to the governor first," Katerina said, "you can't leave the city without his authorization."

"Why?" Stan asked confused.

"You were arrested, remember?"

"Right."

He stared uncomfortably at his brother whose hard expression hadn't changed since he told him his plans.

"This is it then..." Stan said.

"Not until the fat lady sings," Steve answered.

* * *

"You don't have to do this, you know?" Steve spoke to his brother on their way home.

"I already told you I do. We talked about it this morning."

"It's a suicide mission and you're not even sure it's going to work!"

"Yes, it is. But I owe this to Kat," he explained, "she has saved my life more times that I can count."

"If that man was capable of tracking you down, what makes you believe he is going to let you make it to NY?" Steve asked, "I mean, if he was able to kill that man just because he gave information to Kat, imagine what he will do to you if he knows you will testify against him."

"I don't need you to tell me that. I know the risks."

"Then why... I get you owe her, but is it worth risking your life?"

He looked outside the window and sighed. Katerina was the only one who had tried to help him out when he was in too deep, she had been there for him even thought it could cost her her whole career.

"Yeah, it's worth it."

He liked jogging; it cleared his head, calmed him and relaxed him. Besides she view outside his dad's house was fantastic. He remembered when he used to surf with Steve when they were kids, how they raced to who got to the water first. Steve always won, obviously.

He came into a halt all of a sudden. There was a strange dark car with dark windows parked just a few blocks away from his house. He could have ignored it, just keep running away, but he knew that car. He knew who those men were and he couldn't walk away from them, there was no point.

One of them made his way towards him, dark suit and all. If he wanted to go unnoticed he wasn't doing a good job.

"How'zit, brah?" Stanley greeted him, the man didn't even flinch. He looked like a gigantic gorilla who was not very amused.

"Time to go," he spoke.

"Go where?" Stan asked innocently.

"Don't make me hurt you, Stanley," the man said. "The boss just wants to talk to you."

"Right. And I'm prince charming."

"Move."

He grabbed his arm, his gigantic hand squeezed him hard. He couldn't pull away even if he tried. There was no point; he wasn't going to, not if running away was going to put his brother's life in danger. He was tired of running too, he had done that for almost a year, it was time to clear everything up.

He took one last glance at the house. Suddenly with the feeling he was not coming back.

**TBC**

**Shit just got real y'all**


	8. Chapter 8

_**You guise, after the AMAZING episode we got on Monday I just don't know what to think. All the feelings. I'm speechless and so freaking bouncy! OMG. And we even got a McKono hug! YAY! I'm so happy! **_

_**ok. Don't forget to read and review.**_

_**Fran**_

* * *

When Steve woke up that Saturday morning he knew something wasn't right. There was something missing and he couldn't quite put his finger on. The house was in silence; no music, no TV on, no clashing of plates. If it wasn't because Stan was supposed to be here too he would have thought the house was empty.

Then it hit him. The night before Stan had mentioned how much he liked jogging in the morning; he used to run around Central Park when he was in New York. He said he wanted to do it here because the view was amazing and he needed the fresh air if he was going to make it back home.

He ran towards the living room to find it empty and the same with Stan's old room. He was gone. Panic hit him. He should have never let him go; he should have stayed with him all night if he had to not just let him leave like that.

If something happened…

His phone rang and he jumped in surprise.

"Hello?"

"_Steve, is Stan with you?"_ Katerina asked with distress.

"What?"

"_I called him on the phone earlier and it was off. I talked to the Governor and he said we could go,"_ she explained.

"He…" Steve peeked outside his window, as if he was about to find Stan jogging or surfing. There was nothing. His heart beat faster inside his chest. "I don't know where he is."

"_What?"_ She screamed on the other line. He could just see her walking around the room in desperation. "_What do you mean he's gone? Where?"_

"I don't know, Kat. He wasn't here when I woke up this morning."

"_Steve…"_

"Hey, don't worry. We're gonna find him," he wasn't sure he was telling her that or was trying to convince himself.

* * *

Stan watched outside the window with sadness. This was definitely not the way he wanted to see the islands beautiful landscape again. The handcuffs on his wrists were not necessary though, he wasn't going to run away. He had stated as much the first time but his captors (who he used to call friends back in the day) did not understand.

He found it strange that they didn't cover his face like they used to do it with other people. He feared it was a bad sign. A terrible sign.

They stopped at an old abandoned house. Oddly enough it was empty. And then not oddly enough Marino was capable of buying everyone off so he could have his private space to kill. Fantastic, he was going to die by the sea.

The door on his side was open quickly, the man beside him push him harshly.

"Get out."

"You could be nicer, Col," he spoke to the man. "We used to be friend, remember?"

He thought he saw a small hint of sorrow in the man's face. The pushing stopped; he just motioned with his hand for him to get out.

He stepped out and Col took the handcuffs from his wrists but grabbed his hands to keep him from running away. He still had no choice and had no plans to do so. The other one standing next to them had another idea though. He dragged him inside the house, the door cracked as they walked in, giving the whole situation a sinister touch. As if this wasn't scary enough.

It was all dusty and dark, there were boards covering each window which made the sunlight almost impossible to see. The furniture had been covered with dirty white sheets; the fireplace was as dusty as the floor. The gorilla that dragged him inside pushed him towards a corridor that lead to another old room.

He stood in the doorway, unable to move. Panic suddenly hit him and he involuntarily shivered. Giuseppe Marino sat in a large chair, two other gorillas by his side. He wore the impeccable suit fit for a mob boss like him, shiny shoes and all. It had been a years since they last saw each other, not that Stan was looking forward to though, he wanted to forget he ever met this guy. Now he was standing before the man he had once called 'boss', this time he realize how scary he really was.

"Stanley, my favorite boy," Giuseppe spoke, smiling brightly at him. The involuntary shiver came back once more.

"Marino," Stan greeted coldly, trying to look as tough as he could. The gorillas standing next to him made it kind of hard though.

"What's with the cold shoulder?" the man asked innocently.

"Rumor has it you've been looking for me and not precisely to party."

He got up, walked slowly towards Stan. God he really wanted to run away like a coward, because this man was intimidating has hell. How he had managed to work and do stupid things he did was beyond his comprehension.

"Rumor has it you want to betray me, Stanley. Is that true?"

Stan swallowed hard. It wasn't a joke when Katerina told him he knew his every move.

"I'm doing the right thing."

Giuseppe laughed loudly as if he had said the funniest thing ever, echoing against the old walls. Ever the lost puppies his men laughed along with him. It made everything creepier and twisted.

"The right thing?" he asked. "Do I need to remind you all the people you killed?"

"That's not me anymore. I'm gonna turn my life around."

"Will you?" he nodded slowly, sitting back in his chair and leaning back casually. "Sounds great. Will you turn your life around with your twin, what's his name? Steven, right? Commander Steven McGarrett, currently head boss of 5-0. He seems like such a nice man, has a nice house too and a pretty girlfriend. Kono Kalakaua. Too bad he'll die because of you."

* * *

Steve's heart hadn't stop beating faster since he left his house. He had no idea how he had gotten into the HQ without killing somebody on his way in, he was a terrible driver when under stress. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he walked in, his whole team already waiting for him by the computer. Katerina was biting her nails nervously, tears watery and nose puffy red, clear sign of crying. He felt bad for her, he had no idea she cared about his brother so much.

"Hey," Kono greeted him, her arms came to wrap around him in comfort. He appreciated the gesture, seeing her as the support he really needed.

"Hey. Any news?" he asked her and the team.

"No, sorry," Danny spoke sadly. Katerina sighed heavily beside him, rubbing her eyes.

"He has him…" she whispered. "I know he does."

"There's no clue…" Steve told her, knowing he could be completely mistaken.

"No clue? Steve that man is here for a reason and it's not me," she snapped. "He knows the only hope for me to put him down is Stan. He knows if he's gone I have nothing. He doesn't need me, he wants him."

"Look, why don't we calm down okay? " Danny spoke to the both of them. "Let's try and figure out where he might have taken him."

"Yeah. Okay," she spoke, wiping away her tears. "You're right. I'm sorry…"

"You have nothing to apologize for. We all care about Stan," Steve told her. "We're gonna find him, promise."

"Anywhere we can start looking?" Steve asked.

"Actually we already did," Chin showed up from his office, pictures in hand. He dropped them on the table loudly. "The security cameras on the street of your house. There was a car parked on a corner. Two minutes later your brother was being pushed inside."

Katerina peeked at the photos, taking one of them to have a closer look.

"What?" Steve asked her as she frowned, concentrated.

"I know this guy," she pointed at one of the guys pushing Stan inside the car. "I remember seeing him at my house when I was little… Fabiano. His name is Fabiano Ettore."

"You sure?" Kono asked.

"Yeah. He was the guy who dragged my mother's body out of the house when Giuseppe killed her," she whispered, eyes still fixed on the man's face. Steve gave her arm a light squeeze and she smiled gratefully.

"Well we got a name but still nothing…" Danny spoke.

"Actually, if I remember correctly, I heard this guy talking to Giuseppe once saying how much he loved to have a house near the ocean," Katerina said. "If he wanted to do something, I'm pretty sure that's where he would take him."

"Are you positive? These guys don't make mistakes."

"Yeah well, he will. He's really not very smart."

"Okay. Danny track all the properties in this guy's name," Steve directed him. "If he's as dumb as Kat says, Stan might still be around."

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

_**I gotta say I cried my eyes out while writing this chapter. Hardest fic ever. Still cry while reading it again. **_

_**Thank you for reading and all the amazing reviews, you guys are like the freaking bomb!**_

_**Fran**_

* * *

The sweat dripping down Stan's chest had nothing to do with the heat. It was fear. Pure and total fear. Giuseppe was smiling at him like a psycho, as if what he had just said was the most normal thing in the world, as if he just hadn't threatened to kill Stan's brother.

"Leave him out of this," Stan told him harshly, though he was just wasting his breath with a crazy man like him.

"I will, if you stay out," he spoke. "It's really simple. Tit for tat"

"And lose the opportunity to see you behind bars? No way."

"Well, it's a shame. I really did think you cared about your brother," he shrugged, "Oh well…"

He made his way towards the door and Stan stood there watching. He was frozen for a minute. Did he really say that? He was trapped between justice and saving his brother's life. He wanted both.

"Wait!" Stan yelled and Giuseppe stopped and turned around. "Tell me what to do."

"See? I knew I liked you for a reason, I mean, I even let you fall for my daughter."

He had no idea how he knew, how he had find out his feelings for Katerina. The last thing he wanted now was for her to get hurt. She just wanted a normal life, wanted everything her father had done to her to be erased from her memory. The way he spoke about her, the way he mentioned her name, like they were still family but he knew deep inside he wanted her dead. He was scared that one day he would succeed.

"She has nothing to do with me," he lied. "Just leave her alone."

"Oh Stanley, do you really think I'm that stupid? Don't you think I know how you two have been plotting to destroy me?" he came closer, his face inches apart. He could smell the mix of tobacco and alcohol on his breath. "Did you really think I was going to let you go and break my world?"

Then it hit him. If he hadn't gone jogging this morning he would have caught them on their way to NY, probably shoot them or destroy the plane. He wanted to kill them both, not just him.

"She's your daughter," Stan whispered, the man just shrugged unaffected.

"She's now my enemy. Too bad, I would have given her everything. Just like her mother," he closed his eyes for a brief tiny second, and then sighed heavily. "Well, her loss. Now I'm gonna take the only thing it matters to her. You."

His heart tightened inside his chest, painfully. He knew he was going to die, he just regretted not saying all the things he wanted to say to his brother, and to Katerina.

* * *

Kono feared if they didn't get there in time Steve was going to kill them both. His driving skills were not the best at the moment and she was beginning to panic. She had insisted she should drive but he wasn't listening to anyone, his mind only focused on saving his brother. Obviously she couldn't blame him.

Ten minutes after Katerina gave them the name they had found a hit. Turns out the guy was not so smart after all, he had bought a house near the beach, with view to the ocean a couple of blocks away from Steve's house. The house was empty but his windows were still covered with boards and the grass was growing uncontrollably. Coincidently today there was a car parked outside, the same as the video footage.

They had found Stan. She prayed they had gotten there on time.

* * *

The man paced around, smoking a cigarette casually. He seemed calm, really, as if he was waiting for something. Nothing happened though. And when he turned around the gun held on his hand made its appearance. Stan hadn't noticed it, he couldn't recall someone handing it to him, or maybe he was too distracted trying to remember the last thing he told to Steve.

He had failed miserably.

"If you're gonna kill me, make it quick," Stan spoke. His opponent laughed bitterly.

"Why? Are you scared?"

"No, but you sure are making me waste my time."

"Don't worry; soon you won't have to worry about wasting anything."

Suddenly the gun was pointing directly at his forehead. Only by instinct he closed his eyes, feeling the cold metal touch his skin. His breath caught in his throat, tears formed in his eyes. He wanted to cry. He surprised himself with the sudden feeling of melancholy, the sadness and sorrow overwhelmed him. He was going to die.

He heard a bang and a loud thud. He was still alive, though. His eyes flew open and looked around him. The two gorillas that had dragged him in were facing the ground, blood dripping down their heads. He heard a voice from behind him and turned around to see Steve, gun pointing at Giuseppe.

He thought, for a minute, that this was finally going to be over. He was wrong.

A strong arm pulled him from his spot. The cold metal was back against his skin, this time on his back. He could feel it through his plane black shirt.

"DROP IT!" Steve screamed to the man, but he had refused to let it go. He wasn't about to surrender that easy. "I said DROP IT NOW!"

He looked around him; Katerina was pointing at her father as well, angriness written all over her young face. She was squeezing the gun so tight her knuckles had turned white. She wanted to shoot, she wanted to kill him, and she was desperate. But each moment had to be taken with time and that was exactly what they didn't have.

"One more step and he's dead," Giuseppe screamed. The team stared at each other, except Steve, he was still making eye contact with the killer. "If you thought I was going to go without a fight, you were wrong."

"Let him go," Katerina spoke. "Let him go or I swear…"

"Swear what? You will kill me?" he laughed, amused. "You couldn't do it two years ago, you won't do it now."

"Are you sure about that?" She squeezed the gun a little tighter, prepared to make a move. "Just try me Giuseppe, try me."

"My pleasure…"

Stan found himself being pushed, being thrown somewhere aside. Then gunshots, people screaming and running. He thought the two men down were enough, that Giuseppe being alone was going to be an easy target. Once again he had been completely wrong. Men ran from out of nowhere, shooting and screaming at where the team was standing. He had somehow crawled behind a couch, looking for something to attack with, until he found it.

Standing up as quickly as possible he made the bold move. He pointed the recently found gun at the man before him, pulling the trigger with no result. He was just standing there, in the middle of a war zone, unarmed.

He didn't know when it happened, or who did it. He only knew he was falling down with excruciating pain, and someone screaming his name.

* * *

Everything had turned into a nightmare before he could stop it. The gunshots, the blood, everything. Steve thought it was going to be easy. It was never easy, no matter how simple things looked from the outside.

"Stan…" he whispered, squeezing his brother's hand tightly as he lied on the ground "Stanley, look at me."

There was blood everywhere and he couldn't stop it, no matter how much he squeezed.

"Don't close your eyes bro," he spoke to him again, trying hard to keep him awake. "C'mon Stan… where's that damn bus!"

"Steve…" Stanley whispered, his eyes drifting shut again. "I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Hey, no. C'mon, no apologizes alright? We can talk about this later."

"I… I really… wanted out," he whispered, the pain taking over his weak body. "I… wanted out."

"I know bro, I know," Steve swallowed the tears forming in his throat as hard as he could, but his voice was already becoming a whisper, the emotions taking over his body.

"Don't… don't… let me go…" he gave his hand the last squeeze before everything went silent. There were no words anymore, no movement. Nothing.

"Stan. Stanley open your eyes," Steve screamed, tears running freely down his cheeks. "C'mon bro, c'mon you can't leave me! Stanley…"

But there was no answer. Nothing . His heart broke, his world felt apart slowly. He was alone again.

It was over.

**TBC**

**damn this chapter...**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, I appreciate all the support you give me. **_

_**Also, this has got to be the saddest fic I've ever written. At least the last two chapters were super hard to write and impossible not to break down into tears.**_

_**I promise to write a happy fic next time. **_

_**Love you all!**_

_**Fran**_

* * *

There had been only two times Steve had felt empty. The first one was when his mother died, he had cried for weeks nonnstop. Then when his father died, the feeling of emptiness coming back, that time he had cried in silence. Now he felt like that feeling had returned. There was something squeezing inside his chest, he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

It had been nearly two weeks since Stan died. He still woke up every night sweating, recalling the day he had been murdered and no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't get it out of his chest. Kono had stayed with him for days, making sure the nightmares were gone. He had lied telling her they had, not really wanting to burden her with his issues.

"Steve?"

He turned around from his place by the window. It suddenly becomes some sort of a habit for him to just look outside, at the waves, and picture himself surfing with his brother. He imagined one day he would knock at his door and race him to the beach, like he used to.

"Hey," he greeted Kono, smiling as wide as he could, failing miserably of course. "What's up?"

"You got a letter," she spoke, handling the medium size brown envelope to him. "It's from Kat."

Even after Stan passed, they hadn't lost contact. He had called her constantly to check her out, to see if she was handling things better than he had. At the end of each call she ended up crying, telling him she wished Stan were there with them. He hangs up with tears in his eyes.

Kono turned around to leave, thinking he wanted some time on his own. But he had called her name before she could reach the door.

"Can you stay?" he whispered, the sad look on her face broke her heart a little. She smiled at him and sat at the edge of his desk, like she had done many times before.

Inside the envelope was a letter written in Katerina's handwriting. He scanned it quickly before reading out loud.

"_Dear Steve:_

_I wanted to let you know that I have successfully closed the case. There's no more Marino, no more corruption, no more evil. His death put a halt to all of this madness and I can finally walk in piece. _

_Upon my search I came across something concerning you, and Stan. I found letters. Several of them address to you, unsent, written by Stan. The reason why he never sent them is unknown to me as it is to you, I suppose. Figured, even though he's not with us, you might want to read them. He would have wanted that._

_Take care, give my love to Kono._

_Sincerely,_

_Katerina Vesi"_

He had written letters. Several. Just like he did with his father, this time he didn't send them, God knows why. Just like Katerina had said, there were at least ten letters inside. He picked one randomly and read out loud, Kono's hand holding his tightly.

"_What's up Stevie? _

_God it's been a long time, huh? Like four years or something. Whatever, who's counting right? How have you been, bro? I'm doing alright. Sort of good. Wait, scratch that. I'm doing bad. I have made a lot of mistakes, silly mistakes, big mistakes. I regret every single one of them. I wish I could turn back time and listen to Dad when he told me the Army was the best for me, that would have saved me from lots of shit going on in my life now. _

_Steve, I want to change my life around. I want to erase everything I did and go back home. I never thought I would miss that forsaken island this much, but I do. I miss home, I miss you brah. I want to escape this hell of mine so we can be brothers again. Can we do that? Can we be brothers again? _

_Tell Mary I love her and I miss her. _

_Sorry I couldn't be at Dad's funeral. _

_Love you bro. _

_Stanley."_

His heart hurt, he could actually feel physical pain like he had never felt before. He closes his eyes, sighing heavily as he put the letter aside. This was his brother, the one he had missed since the day he left the one he used to play with and so pranks with. The one who was now gone forever…

"He… wanted to change," he whispered, sharing a look with Kono and seeing she had tears falling down her cheeks. "He really did…"

"He did it, somehow," she spoke softly. "With what he did for Kat, part of what he went through was over."

"But he's gone," he spoke, "and he's not here to see everything he did."

"Well, I think he's still watching. Somewhere, you know? That's what good people do; watch over the ones they love."

"I just…" he spoke, voice breaking with sadness. "I just feel as if part of my heart has been ripped off, you know? I don't think it will get better."

She hugged him, tight. Because she seriously had no idea how to help him, what to say to make the pain go away. Each time he closed his eyes she knew he was seeing his brother, he felt him somehow in the air and when he realized he was gone, his emptiness came back. She wished she could take the pain away.

"You will get better," she whispered in his ear. "I'll be here to help you in every step of the way, I won't leave you. Ever."

"I love you," he whispered back, her heart caught up in her throat. He was being sincere, taking his moment of vulnerability to let everything out.

She moved away, her hands came to touch his face, wiping away the tears on his cheeks. Then she kissed him, softly and sweetly. He smiled when they broke apart; his forehead came to rest upon hers in the sweetest gesture.

"I love you too, always," she answered back.

He knew there was always going to be a point in his life in which the sadness for his brother departure will return, but he felt somewhat content there was always going to be someone to console him and hold him in his time of need.

**THE END!**


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